Get a Big Bang from your Box Store Bouquet
April showers bring May flowers, right? Well, despite that we still have some showers hanging around, I am busting out the flowers this May Day! I didn’t create any cute May Day baskets to hand on anyone’s door this year, but I can show you how to get the biggest bang for your buck when you pop that big box flower bouquet into your grocery cart, disguising it as a grocery budget item;)…
And don’t tell anyone I gave you that idea! Because maybe I crave flowers as much as I do good food!
And the flower bouquets are so beautiful and reasonably priced at the big box stores. I have arranged quite a few parties-full of arrangements with them, instead of getting custom floral arrangements (sorry, florists).
If you follow a few of my tricks, your home and your parties will be all the happier, full of pretty floral arrangements! I’ve created a downloadable/printable in my free Resource Library with all these tips, that you can receive later.
First…Before you unpack your zillions of dollars worth of jumbo sized groceries, give your stems a quick trim and pop them in a container of water so they can slurp up a big drink!
Now, some would think their bouquet is ready for the world right now…but please don’t stop here!
Open up your bouquet and lay out the flowers. Organize them by color and by shape, grouping likes together:
Find several vessels to create your arrangements. They don’t have to be vases; they can be anything that holds water, or anything you can tuck a container of water into. I decided I needed a little sunshine today and gathered my collection of yellow pitchers:
Arrange each vessel with a different color scheme of your flowers. Cut the stems at the proper height for each vessel. Don’t worry about throwing away the green stuff! They just leave all the ugly stems on so they can display the flowers at the store. Also peel off the ugly leaves. You can certainly add some pretty green later, if you need.
Here’s what went in my trash:
There’s still plenty left for the pretty!
I decided which colored flowers were going to go in each pitcher, taking the sizes of the flowers into consideration.
And then I took stock of what I could add to each colorway…from my yard and the refrigerator! Yes, you read that right. Because if you have a handy, dandy package of wood skewers that you normally make your grilled kabobs with…anything can be turned into art!
The largest pitcher needed the biggest flowers with the largest leaves, but I still needed some more oomph to fill out the arrangement:
Some daffodils from the garden and a couple of skewered clementines that were looking pretty sad in the fruit drawer filled out this sunny arrangement! I also snipped a few lilac branches that had just leafed out.
The green flowers were a little lonely in their pitcher, so I clipped some hosta leaves from the yard, snipped a few succulent stems from inside the house, and then skewered some brussel sprouts for added texture. It’s a celebration of springtime green!
The purple flowers were begging for some of the wild violets in my yard to join them. I chose the littlest pitchers for these because the violets have such petite stems. I snipped a stem from my ivy and also a couple more hosta leaves for green. Think these two cuties are my favorites:
The three rosy-red carnations in the bunch had me stumped. What could I pair with them to create a pretty arrangement? I snipped a few branches from my red twig bushes and my crabapple tree, and then I remembered the strawberries I’d just bought…
If I would have bought radishes, they would have worked too!
To get the biggest bang from your big box bouquet, nothing is off limits for you to add with them!
If you will become a subscriber to my newsletter, you will get access to my free downloadable/printable tips for getting the biggest bang from your box store bouquet. Then you’ll have a cheat sheet for whenever your floral arranging skills are needed, whether it’s a party, or for yourself! My Resource Library also has refreshing and re-purposing tips and tricks, along with pretty printables for your home decor styling.
Here are all the arrangements I got out of ONE box store arrangement! Can you believe it? And you’d never guess these were just normal, grocery store flowers. The store bought bouquet is really the anchor that built all of this prettiness!
For more floral arranging posts, check out:
Color Block Your Garden Bouquets for Visual Impact
Get the Most from Your Faux/Everlasting Flowers
I hope you’re inspired to pick up a big box store bouquet next time you’re grocery shopping! Now that you know how to maximize the flowers and foliage, you’ll be able to enjoy beautiful flower arrangements for your parties, or just for everyday!
Linking up with these lovely parties:
Now I know why my floral arrangements looked so bad. Thanks for the wonderful tips.
Too funny, Debra! Here’s to pretty flower arrangements with a tropical touch all around your home!
So pretty! Love how you used the yellow containers. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks homeonthecorner ladies! I guess that yellow pitcher collection has just grown over the years…most other people collect the white ones!
I’m glad it cheered you on this rainy, cold day Shelly! And glad you’ll think about your produce drawer next time you’re arranging flowers!
Loved every bouquet. You are something else, Lora
Thanks, Glady! This is my version of a May Day basket this year!
Charming! The combination of flowers & fruit/ veggies is one I wouldn’t have thought of. Also like the idea of separating bouquet to stretch the loveliness– your “new” bouquets look great! Grouping your pitchers only added to the cheeriness, a definite plus on this cold, gray day.